1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an arrangement to lower, position and raise pressure elements of a printing apparatus.
As used herein, a printing apparatus is an apparatus that is designed to print on flat items to be printed during the passage of the flat items through the apparatus. Upon the occurrence of a jam of flat items to be printed in the transport path, or disruption of the passage of the flat items, removal of a box-shaped module from the printing apparatus is provided for the purpose of cleaning the sensors and the transport examination subject and to empty the ink capture reservoir. Upon insertion of the box-shaped module into the printing apparatus, the invention allows an automatic lowering, positioning and raising of pressure elements on the transport belt. Such as is suitable for use in franking machines, mail franking systems and other printing apparatuses or mail processing systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A transport device for flat goods to be printed is known from the European Patent Application EP 2072272 A2. This transport device has a driven transport belt supported on rollers, the transport belt being supported on a support plate. The flat items to be printed are pressed from below, counter to the force of gravity, onto the transport belt in the support region by means of support bars. During the printing the flat items are transported in the transport direction past at least one print head of a printing module and are pushed from above through a print window by means of the print head. The print window is arranged in a housing part of the printing apparatus at the edge of the transport belt.
A device to press flat items onto a transport module is known from European Patent Application EP 2072271 A2, wherein the pressure device is mounted in a lower housing shell and is equipped with pressure elements that can be lowered. The pressure elements act on the flat good to be printed with an elastic force through an opening in a feed table for flat items. An actuation element in order to activate a lowering device to which the pressure elements are attached is arranged on the lower housing shell. However, a lowering of the pressure elements does not allow any access to the sensors, transport elements and pressure elements.
A device to press flat items onto a transport module is known from European Patent Application EP 2072268 A2, wherein a support receptacle for pressure elements is arranged below a feed table and at least one of the pressure elements, with a number of individually elastically-supported components, is installed on the support receptacle. Alternatively, a number of pressure elements are arranged below the transport belt on the support receptacle, in the transport direction. However, an access to the sensors, transport elements and pressure elements (which often become soiled) is not enabled by this module.
Present franking systems lower the pressure elements by activating a lever, rotating wheel or a pawl. The pressure device thereby remains firmly connected with the franking machine or is only folded away. The lower transport unit of the franking machine is lowered or folded down in order to correct an existing paper jam. However, access to the sensors, transport elements and pressure elements continues to be difficult or impossible.